Casson 2001

Casson, Lionel. Libraries in the Ancient World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.

The Beginnings: The Ancient Near East

Egypt: papyrus; Mesopotamia: clay tablets; Sumerians write in cuneiform on clay

Elba

Hattusas, capital of empire of Hittites from c17-13BC

• mass of clay tablets uncovered from royal palace, most documentary
• many have colophons identifying the title and scribe
• series of tablets from c13BC containing detailed bibliographical entries -- an early library catalogue
• repeated copying of well-known works built up collections for particular temple/palaces -- no book trade
• library of this size only the prerogative of kings, who could create holdings by plundering other collections

Tiglath-Pileser I (reigned Assyria 1115-1077BC); founded library unearthed in temple of Assur at Ashur; mostly documentary and religious materials

Ashubanipal (reigned Assyria 688-627BC); boasted of his literacy (could read and write cuneiform); created large private royal library; probably acquired while plundering Babylon; tablets contain warnings against stealing or rubbing out the text

Near Eastern collections "were not the seed which engendered the libraris with their far wider horizons that were to arise in the world of Greece and Rome" (15)

Egypt surely had libraries, but none survive because of perishability of papyrus

The Beginnings: Greece

end of c5BC, Greeks begin mentioning "booksellers"; by the latter part of the c4BC, "the prerequitsites for the creation of the public library had been met" (28): scriptoria turning out multiple copies, dealers selling them, people collecting them

leading up to library at Alexandria:

• c3BC, Aristotle amasses large personal library (28-9); student Demetrius of Phalerum was intimate with Ptolemies, may have suggested Aristotle's library as a model for Alexandria
• then Athens passes law stating authorized versions of the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides must be maintained by the records offic

The Library of Alexandria

Ptolemy I founded Museum to entice scholars to the cultural wasteland of Alexandria; offered scholars handsome salary, free food and lodging, tax exemption, to come live and work in an area of his palace

library grew to meet demands of the scholars; Ptolemies sent buyers out with money, told them to buy the oldest copies (less copying); confiscated books coming in on ships, gave a copy to the owner and kept the original -- wanted to acquire everything

newly acquired books stacked in warehouse; authors name and ethnic added to tab at end of rolls

main library, 490,000 rolls; "daughter library", 42,800

first head librarian: Zenodotus

• used Aristotle's system, presumably
• first to organize library alphabetically (by author, within categories, only by first letter)
• created first authorized text of Homer

Callimachus of Cyrene: produced the Pinakes, or Tables of Persons Eminent in Every Branch of Learning together with a List of Their Writings; brief biographical sketch of all authors with list of works in alphabetical order, organized by category (how to list authors who wrote across multiple genres?)

Eratosthenes, Director from ~245-205BC, learned in geography

(Philitas, created Miscellaneous Words, proto-dictionary of arcane terms in Homer; became wel-known)

thus first phase of Alexandrian scholarship created indispensable tools of scholarship: dictionaries, authoritative text editions, commentaries, grammars (45)

some believe library was destroyed by fire in 48BC; possibly only part was destroyed; after Rome took over Egypt in 30BC, Directorship and museum became political plum, and it degenerated; most likely was laid waste during fighting in Alexandria in 270AD